{"id":1557214,"date":"2023-04-11T13:59:00","date_gmt":"2023-04-11T17:59:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/?p=1557214"},"modified":"2023-04-11T13:59:12","modified_gmt":"2023-04-11T17:59:12","slug":"shaquille-oneal-admits-hes-more-on-the-skeptical-side-about-victor-wembanyama","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sports7.us\/news\/shaquille-oneal-admits-hes-more-on-the-skeptical-side-about-victor-wembanyama\/","title":{"rendered":"Shaquille O'Neal Admits That He's ‘More on the Skeptical Side' About Victor Wembanyama's NBA Future"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

While he's yet to arrive on North American shores, just about everyone remotely interested in basketball has an opinion about Victor Wembanyama<\/a>. The vast majority of those are positive, praising the teenager's potential and dreaming of how he'll shake up the NBA scene, but there are some dissenters. Charles Barkley, for example<\/a>, has been unwilling to say that Wemby will be great in the Association. And while he and Chuck don't always see eye-to-eye, Shaquille O'Neal<\/a> agrees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As one of the great big men, Shaq knows a thing or two about what it takes to make it in the pros. Based on that perspective, he's a bit skeptical about Wembanyama's path to stardom once he crosses the Atlantic.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Think that sounds reasonable? Or is O'Neal uncorking a hot take? Let's break it down.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shaquille O'Neal wants to see more from Victor Wembanyama before declaring him an NBA star<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
\"Shaquille
Shaquille O'Neal isn't ready to anoint Victor Wembanyama as an NBA star just yet. | Daniel Boczarski\/Getty Images for Michelob ULTRA, Aurelien Meunier\/Getty Images<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

While SportsCenter<\/em> laid the foundation, social media has taken highlight culture to the next level. Even if you never watch a full game, you'll see all of the big moments and exciting plays plastered across your feed. And while that's a great thing for a busy fan — it's simply impossible to watch every game every night — it can lead to some false images. Just ask Shaq about that.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

During a conversation with the big man, Sports7 asked O'Neal for his take on Victor Wembanyama's <\/a>NBA future. The legendary big man isn't ready to call him a surefire star just yet.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“No, and I'm a bit skeptical because the good and bad thing about highlights,” the Diesel explained. “When you put your highlights on, you always show the good parts. I want to see this kid play a full game. He's not very big \u2014 he's tall, but he's building up a lot of muscles, not that strong. He can shoot, he can dribble, he can do all that.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And that all sounds great, right? Part of Wemby's appeal is that he isn't a conventional big man<\/a>; instead, he can dribble, shoot, and defend on the perimeter. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shaq, however, wants to see more.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

“But I'm only seeing highlights of him dunk the ball and shoot jumpers,” O'Neal continued. “I haven't really seen a lot of post moves. We haven't seen a lot of that stuff. So again, now you could be a star in France. When you come over here, you definitely got to start all over. A lot of guys have a lot of hype and came over here, some played out, and some didn't. So I'm going to be more on the skeptical side like Charles.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shaq also offered Wembanyama some advice about his NBA future<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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Victor Wembanyama on LeBron James calling him \u201cgenerational\u201d: \u201cIt\u2019s obviously an honor to see such great people talk like this about me, but it doesn\u2019t change anything. \u2026 I didn\u2019t do anything yet. I didn\u2019t play a game in the NBA yet. I wasn\u2019t drafted. I\u2019ve got to stay focused.\u201d pic.twitter.com\/7jfMiTWkVU<\/a><\/p>— Ben Golliver (@BenGolliver) October 6, 2022<\/a><\/blockquote>